Author: Useppa

Forty-Four Fish and Useppa’s Almost All Girl Izaak Walton Kids Fishing Tournament – Pictures and Thoughts by UseppaGin – It wasn’t intended, but the 4th of July Izaak Walton Kids Fishing Tournament ended up five girls, one two year old boy, and another little boy on the sidelines. The girls called it an All-Girl Tournament and since they caught 43 of the 44 fish, nobody argued with them. Sixteen year old Jonathon Kerr fished Kids Tournaments when he was younger. He and two friends volunteered to run this one. Jonathon, Josh Milam and Scott Larguier administered The Fisherman’s Oath, measured and released each catch. It was kids helping kids. Trophies were awarded for Most Fish, First Fish, and Second Most Fish. Elliot won a trophy as the Youngest and Only Boy to Catch a Fish. The Most Dedicated Fisherwoman hung in there and caught her first fish with only minutes left in the tournament. The Bravest Fisherwoman was fishing, and fell kerplunk in the water, but didn’t give up.

Island Fourth of July – Thoughts and pictures by UseppaGin – There are no parades on Useppa to celebrate the 4th of July, no flamboyant displays or fireworks. Flags quietly stand beneath trees planted in honor of friends and family who have died. They mark the entrance to the Collier Inn. They wave from pilings, fences, and pathways. Boats pulling into the Marina display the red, white and blue of the United States. Useppa honors the founding of our country in the gathering of friends and families at the Collier Inn, in the patio pool, fishing off Island docks. In times when there is so much political disagreement, on Useppa we humbly celebrate how lucky we are and wish our country Happy Birthday.

The First Days of Island Summer – Thoughts and Pictures by UseppaGin – There’s a quiet about Useppa when summer begins. Boats come and go. People have lunch at the Collier and spend a lazy afternoon in the pool. There are no schedules to meet. Walks happen early on the morning. Drinks are sipped slowly watching the sun set. Seasonal residents and visitors are gone. More birds than people share life on the island.

Father’s Day Weekend on Useppa – Thoughts and photographs by UseppaGin – A mixture of ages, grandparents and grandchildren, fathers and their children, mothers making it happen…There is no better way to celebrate Father’s Day than to be on Useppa. The love, the joy, the happiness on the dock, at the Collier Inn, the pool, playing chess, everywhere on the island was a celebration of family.

Employee BBQ – Thoughts by Dakota Likewise and photos by UseppaGin – June has arrived and as the weekdays slow, a tradition Useppa Island Club on the first Monday of Collier Inn seasonal closure puts on our End of Season Employee BBQ! For 20+ years, on this day, all Island staff gather around for cheeseburgers in paradise off the BBQ manned by one of the caring leaders of our Club, it’s a great time where Landscaping hangs out with Captains, Accountants with Housekeepers, Island Executives with Painters and everyone gets the chance to just enjoy each other for at least an hour over a good meal. It’s keeping up with the traditions and showing appreciation to our hard working staff that keep us strong, Thank You to all the Staff of Useppa Island Club once again!

Jason Duke and Ben Levene with Captain Ozzie Lessinger Win Useppa’s 2019 Izaak Walton Tarpon Tournament – Thoughts and Photos by UseppaGin – It was a hard fought victory. Twenty-four Silver King were caught on Friday and six more on Saturday. Fifteen teams competed for the right to add their names to those on a silver trophy over 110 years old. Finally, it was the team with six fish who won the Championship. Captain Ozzie Lessinger and anglers Jason Duke and Ben Levene were the victors in this year’s Useppa Izaak Walton Tarpon Tournament. Dan Stickley and Justin Dewitt fishing with Captain Mike Slattery came in second with five Tarpon, and the father and son team of Richard and Bruce Wendorf with Captain Ryan Klase finished third with four. Two days on the water, cocktails and food at the Island’s Tarpon Bar, fishermen, their families, a hard working staff… the tradition of Useppa Tarpon fishing is still an integral and vibrant part of island life. (Thank you to Ben Levene, Donald Beckstead and Rich Morris for their pictures. Thank you to Andee Grosnick Wilson for registration help and score keeping, and a thank you to Rogan White for taking me out on the water to shoot pictures.)

The 2019 Useppa Tarpon Tournament Part I – Words and Pictures by UseppaGin – Twenty-four Silver Kings were caught on the first day in the 2019 Useppa Izaak Walton Club Tarpon Tournament. One team caught five, and two teams each caught four. It was a day on the water to celebrate an Island tradition that goes back over 100 years. When it began in the early 1900s, men and women fished dressed formally in jackets and starched shirts. Now men and women wear comfortable clothes, smear themselves with sunscreen, and have broad brimmed hats to keep off the sun. Some things don’t change. Today’s Silver Kings are as wily as their ancestors in the past. It still takes a good fishermen, a smart captain, and some old fashioned luck to reel one in. Thanks to Patrick Leach and Taylor Hay for their close up pictures of anglers and Tarpon.

A Basket of Chocolate Chip Cookies and Two Turtle Doves – Thoughts and Pictures by UseppaGin – The night before Memorial Day two little Turtle Doves fell out of their nest under the Captains’ Office in the Useppa Marina. One landed on the dock. One fell into the water. Members Lori and Dave Alter staying on their boat went into action. Dave went in saving the drowning baby. Lori and Dave carried the two birds to the bushes by the Reception Office, gave them water and left them there overnight. When the Alters had to leave the next day, the Cookie Brigade volunteered. Mother Turtle Dove found her babies but couldn’t carry them home. Working with Deputy Fire Chief Chris, Fireman Ricky, and Useppa Manager Dakota Likewise; Maxwell, Annah, and Cameron found the birds hiding in the bushes, netted them, and carried them down the dock where Dakota put them back up in their nest. Then the Brigade joined by Meriel continued with its holiday mission: drawing pictures honoring the men and women who died for our country and baking cookies to say thank you to the men and women who can’t spend the holiday with their families because they are hard at work on Useppa.

Useppa Memorial Day Weekend – Photos and thoughts by UseppaGin – Friends old and new celebrating Memorial Day Weekend on Useppa. Pulsating music, lunch on the Collier patio, drinks by the pool, children and parents floating across the pool, sitting in deck chairs, walking the beach, a game of bocce, riding golf carts around the island… all part of the fun of a visit by boat to a magical place just a few miles from the Florida mainland.

Memorial Day, Kids, and the Fish are Biting – Thoughts and Pictures by UseppaGin – The 4th generation of one family and new families gathered together on the Marina docks to reel in their catches. Captain Ken administered the Fisherman’s Oath to kids raising their right hands, raising their left legs. They promised to help their fellow fishermen whenever needed and to catch and release their fish. For one hour nothing but fun on Useppa.